Paper sheet transfer mechanism



Feb. 26, 1957 H. c. MERRITT ETAL PAPER sRERT TRANSFER MECRANISM 2 sheets-shea. 1

Filed May 2o', 1952 Feb. 26, 1957 H. c. MERRITT Erm. 2 2,783,041

'PAPER SHEET TRANSFER MECHANISM Filed May 2o. 1952 2 sheets-sheet 2 PAPERSHEET TRANSFER MECHANISM. Harry C. Merritt, St. Davids, and Theodore'-A. McArn,

United States Patent Downingtown, Pia., assignors to Downingtown4 Manufacturing: Co., Downingtown,. Pa.,l a. corporation of Rennsylvania,

ApplcationMay. 2.05.1952; SerialNo. 28,859.16

1- Claim.. (ci. 27h-,2.1)y

-endofthe cutter which may be-adjusted-to'y longitudinally slit a relatively Wide; paper web` into= one'- onmore narrower widths. Theresultingstr-ips are fedi throughY one VorY more-pairs of drawV rolls-intothe cutting mechanism whichl severs; predetermined lengths`v ofi paperV from. the narrow strips.l In order that the cuttercan be; simultaneously operated tocut tor different lengthsimoretthan yones-trip of= paper ata time, it-has been foundfnecessary to sta-rt the paper through` the cutter, and:` then, while .the strips continuetobefedata-highy rate ofv speed, the yoperator-*attempts to transfer one` ofv the strips from) an initial elevated position to a downwardly directed' station where it is fed through anotherl cutting device. This has proven to be" an extremely hazardous operation and workers have all; too frequently lost arms and legs in trying to maintain their balance onl a narrowfootwalk directly over the cutter.

Our improved construction contemplates a mechanical transfer mechanism for one or more ofthe stripzs2inY a multiple paper cutter, and` it` eliminates completelyfthe necessity for manual transfer of the strip or str-ips.A The addition' of this improvement has beenfoundvk to be a very important safety factor.

Tfhe. invention disclosed and claimed herein is,` especially adapted for use on what is generally known as a duplex paper cutter of the type shown in the drawa ings. It will be understood, however, that the invention may equally oe applied to cutters having any number of ydraw roll assemblies and cutting assemblies. Furthermore, it is not necessary that the transfer mechanism forming the subject matter of the invention be limited to use on a cutter since it is suited to any situation Where it may be desired to mechanically kchange the direction of a paper strip feed. However, for the purposes lof the present description the term duplex will be used to refer to a cutter having a plurality of draw roll assemblies and cutter assemblies. l

A primary object of the invention therefore is to provide simple and eective means for transferring one or more moving strips of paper selectively from a irst position to a second position in a duplex paper cutter.

A further object of the invention is to provide a duplex cutter having means for automatically transferring such paper strip feed from a rst pair of draw rolls to a second pair of draw rolls.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a duplex paper cutter a plurality of tape rollers and a pivoting paper board which may be operated to divert 2,783,041 Patented Feb. 26,l 1957 av moving stripof'paper to a second: pair of4 draw:y rolls and'cutter.I

A further object off-the invention. is to provides improvedlmeans for handling lslit paper sheets fwhile moving.

Further objectsfwill be apparentfrom the specification andy drawings inV which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a duplex paper sheet cutter incorporating our present invention;

Fig. 2^is a'partial top view. ofthe structure oflg.A 1 as seenat2-2 ofl'Fig.` 1;

Fig.y 3 isa-fragmentary detail as seen Yat'3--3o-"of-Fig-. 1 showing the-drive'for thetape rollers; v

Fig. 4 is an enlargedsectional detail-of a part of the structureof Fig.- 1; and,

Fig. 51 is a viewvsinrilarftdFig. 4 with` the partsi-ina moved position.

Theinvention comprisesI essentially the provision in a duplex-cutterfof apivotal carriage on which ata-peroller is f journaled.

The carriage has a.swinging paperboard inl addition to-l the tape: rollery which ismounted 0nl the carriage in such away'thatlit may be moved to guidethe-leading edge of paper strips as they arefed through a pair of draw rolls. When the: paper, strips engage theVV tape: on the carriage,- they are directedunder control of-the: tape feed` reenter a second pair of draw rolls from which they maybe fed toacutter inaccordance-with conventional practice. Whenit is desired to run one or more narrow strips ofv paperthrough another cutter for the purpose off cutting the strips into different lengths, a set cf-y diverting tapes is raised torper-mit the ends ofithese strips toby-passthersecond pair ofdraw rolls andfl the cutter through which they had previously been fed.

Referringnow particularly to Figs. 1 and'Z, a standard duplex cutter is shown provided with a slitter assembly 10 having a plurality of adjustable slitter knives` 11, 11 mountedl on shafts 12, 12a and operatively positioned to longitudinally slit a. web of paper P in conjunction with backing rolls 13 andy 14. The slitter/ knives 11 on shaftlZl are used for trimming theedges ofthe web and to slit it into several narrow strips such as P1l and P2'. The slitters-.on shaft 12a are in reserve for adjustmenty to the next change in slitv widths. After passing overV backing roll 13, the strips pass over a roll 15 journaled on cutter frame 16 and at this station an automatic transverse cutter assembly 17 may be used'to sever one or more-of the strips P1 andl P2. In the event the automatic critter 17 is not used, the sheets may be cut manually by an operator on the footwalk 18.

Fromthis pointA the strips are-fed-f between a top-draw roll 19 and a bottom draw roll 20 which are mounted in the conventional manner on the frame 16. The line connecting the centers of draw rolls 19 and 20 is biased so that strips leaving the draw rolls are directed downwardly at an angle such that they will pass over the paper board 21 and thence between the blades 22, 23 of the tirst cutter 24. From thence, the individual sheets feed onto the bottom transfer tape 25 to be carried from beneath the cutter.

The duplex cutter illustrated in Fig. 1 has a second set of draw rolls 26 and 27 and a cutter 28 having knives 29 and 30. A second paper board 31 is positioned between the draw rolls 26 and 27 and cutter 28. In accordance with standard practice, the upper draw rolls 19 and 26 may be pivotally journaled at 32 and 33, respectively, and are weighted at 34 and 35.

When it is desired to divert one or more of the narrow strips such as P2 to the first cutter 24 in order to cut this strip into lengths different from those being cut by cutter 28, it has heretofore been necessary for an operator on the footwalk 36 to reach down in order to break ICC the strip which is being fed directly from draw rolls 19 and 20 to draw rolls 26 `and 27.

In order to avoid the necessity for this manual transfer, we provide a plurality of driven tapes which cooperate to effect this transfer mechanically. When the cutter is initially threaded, the sheet is fed through the first pair of draw rolls 19 and 20 and over the paper support angle 37 (Fig. 5). A swinging paper board 38 which in effect is a part of the paper board 21 is lowered by means of a suitable link 39 operated by a fluid cylinder 40 pivoted to `the frame at 41 or other suitable means. The swinging paper board 38 is supported on a pair of brackets 42 which are in turn pivotally mounted to the frame at 43. Brackets 42 also journal the swinging tape roller 44` around which the lower flight of tapes 45 is carried. When the tail 46 of the sheet strikes the tape 45, it is carried up wardly along with the tape until it becomes engaged by an upper tape ight 47 carried by tape rollers 48 and 49. The speed of upper tlight 47 is slightly in excess of the speed of the lower ight 45 so that the tail of the sheet is carried between the upper and lower tape flights and thence threaded between the second draw rolls 26 and 27. The tail 46 is then fed downwardly over the paper board 31 and past cutter 28, As long as all of the strips slit from the entire web P are being cut into these uniform lengths, all of the strips of the web will be fed through cutter 28 as shown by the position of the strips in Fig. l5.

The .tension in the upper tape flight is regulated by means of a tensioning roller 50 and the tension in the lower flight 4S is controlled by a roller 51. Lower tape ight 45 is carried over idler rollers 52, 53 and the tapes are driven by drive rollers 49 and 55, respectively. Figs. 2 and 3 show the drive for the tape rollers and for this purpose we employ a sprocket 56 secured to the drum shaft 57 of the lower draw roll 27 and sprocket 56 drives roller 55 through a chain 58 and a sprocket 59 on shaft 60 of roller 55. The drive for roller 49 is through a pair of spur gears 61 and 62 pinned to roller shafts 60 and 63 respectively.

With the entire sheet threaded through draw rolls 26 and 27, the swinging paper board 38 will ordinarily be retained in the position shown in Fig. 5, and the paper strips will feed directly as shown in full lines from the draw rolls 19 and 20 to .the tape flights 45 and 47. When .it is desired to divert one of the narrow strips such as P1 to the cutter 24, this strip is broken or cut at 17 and the swinging paper board 38 is raised to the position shown in Fig. 4. As soon as the end of the severed strip P1 t passes between draw rolls 19 and 20, it will no longer con- .tinue to be fed between tape flights 45 and 47, but will vpass directly downward over the paper support angle 37,

the swinging paper board 38, and the stationary paper board 21. `Brackets 42 are then retained in the raised A position for continued operation of the cutters in which the narrow strip P1 is fed through cutter 24 and the strip P2 continues to be fed through cutter 28.

The improved sheet transfer mechanism for a duplex cutter is simply eicient and positively eliminates hazardous manual transfer otherwise employed. The use of our device does not necessitate basic modification in the cutter and may be used with a desired number of draw rolls and their associated cutters.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1n paper handling machinery designed to feed slit strips from a common web together or separately to one or separate operating stations, the combination comprising a. pair of draw rolls operable to feed the strips forwardly, guide means lying in the plane of the path of normal advance of said slit strips discharged from said draw rolls and having a gap extending transversely at the mid-portion thereof, an endless conveyor having a portion extending through the transverse gap in said guide means and positioned in the path of the normal advance of said slit strips from said draw rolls for deecting said slit strips and feeding them as a group to a second pair of draw rolls by which they are fed to an operating sta tion, a lpivoted carriage mounting said deecting portion of said endless conveyor and a paper board, and means for pivoting said carriage to move said detiecting portion of said endless conveyor to a non-dellecting position, said means operable to simultaneously move said paper board into a position extending across the gap in said guide means in which it supports strips in their normal direction of travel from said irst draw rolls, said detlecting portion of the endless conveyor operable in the nonde fleeting position to engage said slit strips and after a group of slit strips has been deflected and drawn into said second draw rolls upon cutting of one or more of said strips to pass said cut strips undeilected to a second operating station, while the uncut strips continue to be fed in the deflected path by said second draw rolls to the rst operating station.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,348,553 Dowell Aug. 3, 1920 1,722,559` Colbert et al. July 30, 1929 1,831,245 Hitchcock Nov. 10, 1931 2,013,220 Rosenthal Sept. 3, 1935 2,392,032 Domville ct al. Ian. 1,1946 2,412,047 Huck Dec. 3, 1946 2,478,610 Uschmann et al. Aug. 9, 1949 2,533,184 Trump Dec. 5, 1950 2,613,741 Battersby Oct. 14, 1952 

